Go Ahead, Stick your Neck Out! Help is Here!

When it comes to beating Father Time or Mother Nature, the first thought comes in one word “Lift.” Whether we’re talking about our faces, or our breasts or our posteriors, lifting is almost always a way to fix and fight the weight of gravity and time.

When it comes to necks, there are options

Whether you’re considering a complete rhytidectomy, the surgical procedure that improves visible signs of aging in the jawline and neck, or liposuction or injectable drugs — sprucing up your neckline can be approached from many different aspects.

Some of them may be chosen because you may want to avoid the scalpel and some may be selected because of expense or need.

Dr. Fodor likes all the options he has. It gives him and his patients the freedom to choose what approach is going to work best, for the long- and short-run for each of his patients.

The Usual Suspects

When you’re looking for the culprits that conspired to turn your neck of years gone by into the one you’re not all that jazzed about when you look in the mirror, there aren’t many surprises.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons — excess fat and skin relaxes in the lower face, creating jowls; similar excess fatty deposits under the chin; overall loose neck skin and muscle ‘banding’ all make good reasons to visit a plastic surgeon. Even environmental conditions and stress can sap your neck of its youthful appearance.

Those nicknames…

“Turkey wattle.” “Double chin.” “Jiggly jowls.” You may not be ready for a full face lift, and, in fact, you may not need one. But the neck? That may be a different story. And if it is, you may feel it’s time to get those stories to match up a bit better.

Not Ready for a Full Neck Lift?

About this time last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Kybella (deoxycholic acid), a treatment for adults with moderate-to-severe fat below the chin. It’s identical to the deoxycholic acid that we naturally produce in the body, which helps the body absorb fats. When it’s injected into the fat, the drug destroys fat cells. Kybella is administered as an injection into the fat tissue multiple times. You may receive up to 50 injections in a single treatment, with up to six treatments administered no less than one month apart.

LIPOSUCTION removes excess fat, but can’t significantly improve sagging skin. A good candidate for successful neck liposuction will be younger, in his or her 20’s through early 50’s. Their skin is fairly elastic, which is necessary for the skin to contract smoothly and evenly after liposuction.

For most patients, neck liposuction is fairly quick and many times it can be done with local anesthesia. Through one or two tiny incisions, concealed beneath the chin or behind the ears, a plastic surgeon inserts small liposuction cannula, removing excess fat and sculpting a natural contour to the chin and neck. Following the procedure, patients typically wear a special supportive chin strap for about three or four days, will return to work within a week, and be ready to return to full activity after about two weeks. It’s typical to experience some swelling and bruising after neck liposuction, but it should disappear with two weeks of your surgery.